Pitching in his first game since the death of his infant son, Brooks, Hill opened up postgame about the emotions that coursed through him on the mound.

“It was tough, but it was good. A good day to get out there and pitch,” said Hill through intermittent pauses to collect himself. “Just that at one point, you’re out there, I remember the 3-2 count, and before you get these, ‘Oh, I’ve got to make a pitch here, got to make a pitch here.’ Then, it just comes to you where you’re just, you’re playing baseball. This isn’t something you were dealing with a few weeks ago, you know?

“So it was kind of a sense of ease to just go out there and play the game the way we were meant to play as kids. The emotions and the feelings that were out there today — that was really it. In that one sense, I could totally see a black and white line there, where it was from years’ past, where you’d feel instead of trying to go out there and just have fun and play the game.

“Now I feel like an overwhelming amount of pressure sometimes to perform; that was really a moment where, even throughout the entire spring training, we’re out here playing baseball. That’s where a lot of the emotions come from as far as realizing it’s just to go out there and have fun — at the core level of the game.”

Hill retired Dioner Navarro on a pop-up, Moises Sierra on a flyout and Ryan Goins on a called third strike — despite having what he called “subpar stuff.”

“Today I had to really focus on feeling the ball, trusting it and just executing the pitch,” he said. “It was a great day because you look at it as ‘Wow, you had B stuff today, but you were able to go out there and execute it and get guys out.’ That was exciting for me.”

“He’s done everything he could to get back in a game,” manager John Farrell said. “I’m sure in his mind, just to get back on a field and compete, hopefully gives him a little peace of mind.”

Hill is a longshot to make the 25-man roster, considering the pitchers ahead of him and his late start to spring training. That said, he should provide much-needed bullpen depth if he starts the year in Triple-A Pawtucket.

“That’s one great thing that Ben has always had his eye on, is the overall depth, and that continues,” Farrell said before the game. “To be able to tap in or call upon a guy that’s already transitioned to the big leagues, it’s extremely helpful.”